SAN FRANCISCO—The worldwide semiconductor photomask market is expected to be worth $3.35 billion in 2012, up 7 percent from 2011, according to the fab tool vendor trade group SEMI.
At $3.35 billion, the mask market is expected to set a new record high this year for the third consecutive year, SEMI said. The trade group expects the photomask market to grow another 4 percent next year and an additional 3 percent in 2014, SEMI said.
Growth in the semiconductor photomask market is being driven by migration to advanced technology feature sizes (less than 65 nm) and increased manufacturing in Asia-Pacific, SEMI said. Taiwan became the largest photomask regional market, surpassing Japan in 2010, and is expected to remain the largest market for the duration of the forecast, SEMI said.
SEMI said the mask market is becoming increasingly capital intensive. According to SEMI data, 2011 was a record year for mask/reticle making equipment, with sales growing 36 percent year-over-year from the previous record year of 2010 to reach $1.11 billion. As the capital intensiveness of the photomask industry increases, captive mask shops are increasing their market share of the total mask market, now representing 40 percent of the market, up from 30 percent in 2006, SEMI said.
